Posts Tagged ‘Jeff Lujan’

True Games snags yet another Top EA exec, moves to Lone Star State

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

(Formerly) Irvine, CA based True Games has recently announced that they’ve appointed former EA, Turbine, and SOE veteran Mick Giles as their new Chief Technology Officer. Giles brings 13 years of industry experience to the table, having most recently served as Senior Director of Online Operation for North America and Asia and Senior Director of Technology for Worldwide Studios at Electronic Arts. Pardon me…what? That actually bears repeating – EA’s chief of Online Ops and director of global Tech – just joined a relative startup, with a business model based on free-to-play titles supported by microtransactions. To say this is big might be selling the concept short.

If Giles’ most recent position didn’t warrant enough street cred, he also served as Execvutive Director of Technology at Turbine, where he oversaw core development projects, operations, IT, and Biz Dev efforts for Asheron’s Call, DDO, and LotRO. And rounding out the ‘Wow, this guy’s been a major player in a lot of stuff’ category, from 2003-2006, Giles filled the role of Director of Platform Technology at Sony Online Entertainment, meaning he was deeply involved in development and technology efforts in titles including EverQuest, EverQuest2, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, and Planetside.

“Mick brings to the team an extensive background in technology, operations, platform management and more, and we look forward to adding his expertise to our management team,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and CEO of True Games Interactive. “With one live game in Warrior Epic and one game about to go into beta in Mytheon, as well as multiple games in development, his expertise and experience is a welcome addition to the team.”

This announcement follows True Games’ rather recent appointment of 15 year industry vet Frank Lucero. And lest we forget, K2, Namco, and Vivendi vet Peter Cesario is now with True Games, as well as former NCSoft and EA exec Peter Jarvis. It looks as through True Games has truly managed to attract some very powerful people all under one roof.

And it looks like that roof in the Golden State isn’t going to be big enough.

Bundled with the announcement of Giles joining the True Games team, they’ve also announced that they’re officially moving their HQ from Irvine, CA to Austin, TX. Not exactly a surprise move, as only this past October, the company announced that they’ve opened a development studio in Austin. Slated for an official closure in March 2010, many of True Games employees will soon be relocating to Texas. The company cites continued growth, stronger internal communication, and a heavier focus on game development, as well as the excellent talent pool in Austin as primary motivators to move.

“Once we were doing our planning for the next several years, it just made more sense for us to combine offices in Austin, as opposed to moving everybody here to Irvine,” Cesario said.

It’s also fair to say that economic conditions are a factor in True Games’ decision. Cesario relates, “Last week, a company official was in town looking at potential office locations. An agent quoted the monthly rent on one of the spaces.”

Confused, the company rep. replied, “No, not square footage, what’s the rent?”

“That’s the best quote I’ve heard,” said Ceario. “It kind of sums it all up.”

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True Games expanding with new dev studio in Austin, Texas

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Proving yet again the strength in microtransaction-supported titles, SoCal games publisher True Games has recently announced that they’re launching their own in-house games development studio. Based in Austin, Texas the new studio will be headed up by industry veteran Frank Lucero. This new studio will be True Games first foray into developing their own free-to-play, microtransactions supported IP, with one title already in the works.

truegameslogoThis new development is just another jewel in the crown for True Games. Over the summer of 2008, True Games founder Jeff Lujan brought aboard Peter Cesario, formerly of K2 Network, Namco, Vivendi Universal and 20th Century Fox fame. A little over a month later, True Games signed an exclusive deal with GOA to publish, distribute, and operate their upcoming title, Mythos, currently being developed by Petroglyph Studios, in the European market. And earlier this year the company launched their first official offering, Warrior Epic, developed by Possibility Space.

The new development studio in Austin is just further step forward for True Games. The Lone Star State arm of True Games will primarily be focused on art, programming, and design. In fact, True Games is almost a tad over-eager to get the new ball rolling, as the development studio is not yet fully staffed, and the company is aggressively recruiting on their corporate website.

“The decision to base this studio in Austin had a lot to do with the exceptional talent pool that exists in the area,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “We are confident that we are building a talented and passionate team that will deliver the best possible games for our community.”

Again, the new studio will be headed up by long time industry figure Frank Lucero. Lucero brings over 15 years of expertise to the True Games table and has design and programming experience with both Console and PC titles in the MMO space. Prior to coming on board with True Games, Lucero spent seven years at Wolfpack Studios/Stay Bullet Games working on various MMO and Wii Games, most notably the (now closed) Shadowbane series. With True Games, Lucero will be in charge of overall operations and management of the new studio.

With their first title Warrior Epic doing well, and the much anticipated Petroglyph title Mythos just around the corner (a 2010 release date is scheduled), it looks like True Games is truly ready to take their game to the next level. Publishing and operating titles is truly nothing to sneeze at, but developing your own Intellectual Property from the ground up is the next logical progression for businesses of True Games’ caliber. Lets see what Lucero and team deep in the heart of Texas can come up with!

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True Games and Petroglyph announce new free-to-play: Mytheon

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

The new free-to-play, microtransaction based Action Strategy/RPG Mytheon is the title of the upcoming offering from the True Games/Petroglyph partnership we first reported back in August.

Petroglyph is best known for their award winning work with Star Wars: Empire At War and Universe At War real time strategy games.  Key members of the Petroglyph team were also involved in the development of the original Command and Conquer series while at Westwood Studios.  Mytheon hails as uncharted territory for Petroglyph, as this is their first microtransaction game.

Mytheon has a planned launch date of Fall 2009, and is slated to combine the best elements of action, strategy, and RPG game-play with a heavy emphasis on collectability and combat (read – blow shit up!).  Players will find themselves in a fantasy universe heavily laden with mythology themes.  The starting area turns out to be a no-surprises-here-isn’t-this-where-it-all-started Greece.  Ongoing expansions will follow that will further adventurers into exotic mythologies from every corner of the world and historical time period.  Designed with ‘not just once’ playability in mind, Mytheon seeks to offer players real-time combat and customizations that will invite them to play the same scenarios in a wide variety of ways via group, PVP, and solo play, an addition to an integrated social networking component.

“There really isn’t a game on the market today that someone could compare to Mytheon,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “The game truly creates an entirely new genre offering a combination of features that gamers would normally have to play several different games to get. There is no doubt it is an ambitious project, but Petroglyph has routinely delivered AAA quality, genre-defining games and Mytheon continues that pedigree.”

Thus far, Mytheon is offering three different character classes each with it’s own specific “power stone” specialty.  These power stones are collected throughout the game and offer players unique abilities including the abilities to conjure spells and summon minions.

“The passion and energy behind Mytheon has been tremendous at Petroglyph. This is exciting new territory for Petroglyph to explore,” said Chuck Kroegel, CEO and General Manager of Petroglyph. “We are making a compelling and addictive new genre that will have you fully immersed and entertained. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner than True Games to take this journey with us and I’m certain that together we’ll deliver a long-lasting new franchise.”

Again, Mytheon is slated for a Fall 2009 release, and something tells me, there’ll definitely be a True Games/Petroglyph presence at this coming summer’s GDC in Cologne.

For further info about this exciting up coming free-to-play, visit the True Games/Petroglyph team at www.mytheongame.com.

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True Games acquires free-to-play Warrior Epic

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Hot on the heals of their most recent appointment of former NCSoft and EA exec Peter Jarvis, Orange County based True Games Interactive has just announced that they’ve acquired global publishing rights to Warrior Epic, a free-to-play MMORPG being developed by Possibility Space.  True Games and Possibility Space will work closely together with a projected launch of spring 2009.

“This partnership demonstrates True Games’ commitment to bringing quality triple-A gameplay, traditionally only seen in retail releases, to the free-to-play game space,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “Not only is Warrior Epic a visually beautiful MMORPG, it also offers some incredibly innovative gameplay features that, combined with the free-to-play model, will ensure a big hit with gamers around the world”.

This free-to-play hot potato has been making waves even prior to the True Games announcement, and this is certainly not the last we’ll hear from Epic Warrior.  The fantasy RPG places players in command of a Warrior Hall where they manage their characters’ adventures.  Each character class has it’s own unique play style and is open for recruitment.  While True Games and Possibility Space have not yet released official details, these unique warrior classes and the hall itself can be upgraded visually and functionally, presumably via microtransactions.

“The free-to-play business model is ushering in a fresh and welcome change to how games are developed and the relationship between developer, publisher and player. We welcome this change, and were looking for a publisher who felt the same,” said Gage Galinger, CEO of Possibility Space. “True Games’ progressive attitude toward online gaming and dedication to working with the next generation of top developers on truly high-quality game content made them the right choice for us and for Warrior Epic.”

“As our lineup grows and the quality of our upcoming products becomes evident, we are raising the bar for the free-to-play space,” said Bob Drobish, CEO of True Games. “With each unique product we sign, we continue to attract key talent and partnerships and this is just the beginning of what we have in store for gamers.”

Considering True Games’ induction of Peter Cesario, and Peter Jarvis, along with this recent acquisition, if you haven’t already taken notice of True Games Interactive, now might be the time to start.  Personally, I see these guys loading up the big guns and expect to see some great things coming out of Orange County.

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Check True Games Interactive out at: www.truegamesinteractive.com
Find out more about Warrior Epic at: www.warriorepic.com

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GOA to bring new micro transaction game from Petroglyph Studios to Europe

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

True Games Interactive announced yesterday that it’s signed an exclusive deal with GOA, the gaming unit of Orange, to exclusively publish, distribute and operate their upcoming title from Petroglyph Studios.
Back in April of this year, True Games announced that it had partnered with Petroglyph on an upcoming free-to-play, microtransaction based game for the PC.  GOA will work the launch and operations of the European market, while True Games Interactive will handle the North American market.  True Games is also currently in negotiations with partners in Asian markets.

“When we partnered with Petroglyph our pledge to them was that we would make their game a global sensation and that we would work with only the highest quality partners like GOA to help support it,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “Traditionally worldwide partners license a game after it’s been completed, but we are working across the globe to locate partners who can contribute to design direction and adapt the game for cultural tastes in each territory for a true worldwide launch.”

GOA’s no stranger to the market, currently operating one of the largest casual gaming portals in Europe, along with publishing EA/Mythic’s Dark Age of Camelot, and ramping up for the soon to launch EA/Mythic – Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in Europe.

“GOA’s products are only the highest quality, highly anticipated products in the online gaming category and that is why Petroglyph and True Games’ project is such a perfect fit. We are confident that our audience will be very enthusiastic about this game and that it will be a major title,” said Ghislaine Le Rhun, Executive Director of GOA.

If the name Petroglyph is ringing more than one bell, you’re on the right track.  In addition to winning awards for their Star Wars: Empire At War and Universe At War series, Petroglyph Studios members played key roles in creating the classic ‘Command and Conquer’ series while at Westwood Studios.  Petroglyph Studios partnered earlier this year with True Games to bring their first microtransaction based title to the PC platform.

While details about the actual game itself are scant, both companies indicated that they are close to making a major announcement regarding the fully features of this up and coming hot potato.  Stay Tuned.

“Whenever we approach a potential partner for this exciting new game their eyes immediately light up,” said Bob Drobish, CEO of True Games. “With Petroglyph’s pedigree and their loyal following of fans we are sure this product will be a worldwide success–it is just a matter of choosing the right partners– and we couldn’t be more certain of our partnership with GOA.”

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True Games seeks to become leading micro transaction publisher in US

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

True Games Interactive founder Jeff Lujan says, “True Games is serious about becoming the leading micro-transaction online game publisher in the US.”  To accomplish this goal, they’ve recently brought in heavy hitter Peter Cesario of K2 Network, Namco, Vivendi Universal and 20th Century Fox Interactive fame.

Cesario joins the team as the new Director of New Business and Product development manager.  He’s worked on top projects such as Hellgate: London, The Lord of the Rings franchise, the Peanuts franchise (Snoopy vs. the Red Baron), Curious George, and Alien vs. Predator.

As Director of New Business and Product Development, Cesario will oversee all development projects along with managing development and licensing relationships, including the company’s newest announcement regarding a Petroglyph Studios developed title.

“I am excited to join True Games when it is just beginning its climb to the top,” said Cesario. “I have worked with the key management personnel who started the company and I have the utmost respect for their experience and knowledge of the industry and am proud to be part of their team.”

For more info about True Games, visit www.truegamesinteractive.com

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